“Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth.” -Buddha***
We mortals are composed of two great schools--Enlightened knaves or else religious fools.
--Abul 'Ala al Ma'arri (973-1057)***
"Life is a banquet, and most poor suckers are starving to death!" -Auntie Mame
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Philosophy, History, Travel, the Arts, Whatever's on my Table...

Tuesday, June 14, 2016

Party Time

Wouldn't it be great if the U.S.-- like countries around the world -- had multiple parties rather than just two? Multiple parties can bring focus to otherwise ignored causes and ideas. Today, for instance, the Libertarian Party is calling for the legalization of marijuana and an end to the absurd "War on Drugs." The Libertarians are also anti-war and against U.S. over-involvement in world conflicts. They are not, alas, for gun control.

Yet political parties in the U.S. never have a chance against the major two parties; and all attempts to win at the national level have failed. Only by building a new party from the ground up, electing local representatives, building a party from local supporters, will any new party succeed. Sometimes, when the country is at a major crossroad, those on the far Left as well as on the Right decide against supporting one of the two parties. This happened in 2000 when supporters on the Left of Ralph Nader refused to compromise. Their voting for Nader, especially in NH and FL, made Bush's rise to power possible. Furthermore, the Nader attacks on Al Gore himself undermined his support and convinced potential Democrats to abandon him or stay at home during the election. Nader directly contributed to Gore's unjust defeat and this was tragic. One major reason ISIS exists is because self-righteous Leftists, like some Bernie fanatics now, voted for Nader and attacked Al Gore. Had Bush not been President there would have been no Iraq Invasion, no ISIS, no refugee crisis, and a far better, healthier planet environmentally. But Leftist extremists are so much Holier than the rest of us. Fuck the planet if it means compromising those high and mighty principles. There will be only 2 candidates in November and choosing to stand on the sidelines as bigots and fools vote for Trump is more immoral for the educated and intelligent than for those who do not see what horrors would await us under a Trump presidency.

Let me repeat this point: Those who stand on the sidelines or vote for a party other than the major two, when so much is at stake, allowing bigots and fools to choose for them, is more immoral for those with education and intelligence than those who don't even see the horrors that someone like Trump would bring.